Jody Townend keeps up family tradition with first Festival winner

There was a first winner at the Cheltenham Festival for Jody Townend when Willie Mullins enjoyed a record-extending 14th victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper with Bambino Fever.

Watchers of the Festival are well accustomed to seeing a Townend return to the Prestbury Park winner’s enclosure aboard a fancied member of the Closutton string, but this time Paul Townend had to give way to his younger sister, who maintained her fruitful association with the five-year-old mare.

Townend had steered Bambino Fever to an impressive victory at Leopardstown during the Dublin Racing Festival and retained the ride as Patrick Mullins elected to ride stablemate Copacabana and her brother chose imperious Punchestown scorer Gameofinches.

Subject to plenty of support throughout Wendnesday, Bambino Fever was sent off at 4-1 and was always ideally poised under her jockey, showing plenty of speed in the closing stages to hold off a host of rivals who chased her to no avail up the famous Cheltenham hill.

John McConnell’s Heads Up picked up second at 33-1, with Thomas Cooper’s Shuttle Diplomacy an even bigger price in third at 66-1, as Bambino Fever became the first mare since Relegate in 2018 to win the Champion Bumper and Townend joining the likes of Katie Walsh and Rachael Blackmore as female jockeys to win the closing race on day two.